Friday, April 22, 2016

Think of trees and you may think of fresh air to breathe.
You may think of trapping carbon and combating climate change, or of food, a
livelihood, or of forest habitat for the wildlife you love. You may think of
the inspiration you found whilst climbing in nature as a child, or you might
think of a robust trunk and long-lived roots that extend beyond our own lives.
However you think of trees, they are a great symbol for Earth Day this year, which
marks a special ceremony.

Trees are as vital for the health of our planet as the
signing of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Today, on International Mother Earth Day (to name it in
full), the UN Headquarters in New York hosts the largest signing ceremony of
its kind in the history of the UN, showing the political momentum behind the
global plan to combat climate change.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be hosting this
high-level signing ceremony, where countries will sign the Paris Climate Change
Agreement – so crucial to the future of our planet – that was adopted back in
December.

“Signing the Paris Climate Change Agreement today is a
powerful demonstration of leadership and intent,” said Edward Perry, Global
Climate Change Coordinator for BirdLife International. “It is encouraging to
see that over 150 countries are registered to sign.”

Signing means committing to implementing measures to address
climate change. The ‘Trees for Earth’ theme of this year’s Earth Day is
symbolic for the day of signing, because only through considering trees will we
be able to achieve the Paris Agreement.

“Protecting and restoring natural forests and other
ecosystems will be fundamental to holding temperature rise to 1.5 degrees
Celsius,” says Perry. “It will also help protect vulnerable communities and
infrastructure from the impacts of climate change, whilst giving nature a
fighting chance.”

BirdLife urges governments to recognise that nature-based
solutions are key to successful implementation of the Agreement. BirdLife
Partners around the world are finding ecosystem-based adaptations to climate
change that are truly working for nature and people.

Like the lifetime of the tallest tree, the impact of
decisions made in the coming months will extend beyond our own generation.

No time to lose

Today governments from all over the world are taking their
first collective step to tackle the climate change crisis. The next step will
be to then take action nationally so that the agreement becomes officially
valid and there are expectations that this will happen earlier than planned.

French President François Hollande and Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau will give speeches explaining when the Agreement will
get national legal status, how they will raise the ambition of national climate
plans, and who they will work with to deliver urgent climate action over the
next 4 years.

After the signing, countries will need to take national
action to ratify, approve or accept the Paris Agreement. This will come into
force thirty days after at least 55 countries covering 55% of global emissions
have done this.

“Interestingly, while the Paris Agreement was designed for
post-2020, there is written that prevents it from coming into force earlier,”
says Perry, “And there is a distinct possibility that this could happen.”

“It is ultimately action - not words on paper - that will
address the climate crisis. The Paris Agreement was a critical and historic
breakthrough in multilateralism. Now it is time for action.”

It’s time to look up into the canopy for inspiration, and
seed action on the ground.

How can I help?

This year, Earth Day Network is calling on you to help
achieve a very ambitious goal: planting 7.8 billion trees. For more
information, visit the Earth
Day website.

I reached Matara on 23rd
afternoon and checked into the hotel located within Matara fort. The evening
was spent strolling on the beach and photographing the sunset.

The Whale and Dolphin watching
cruises started early in the morning from Mirissa. Mirissa was a 20 minutes
drive away from Matara. Therefore, I had an early dinner and retired for the
night.

24th February 2016

Next day morning, we set off from
Matara at 5:15 am and in the absence of any traffic, reached Mirissa within 20
minutes. My tour was booked with Mirissa Water sports, an agency well-experienced
in conducting the whale watching tours. At the agency’s office, the tourists
got themselves registered for the tour and were provided with packed breakfast
& sea-sickness pills.

The tour boat was decent-sized
with 2 tiers and could carry approx. 60 passengers. The lower deck had seats
while the upper deck required passengers to sit/kneel on mats. I chose a seat
on the lower deck at the front of the boat. The tour started at 7 am about half
an hour later than scheduled. It was a bright sunny day and I looked forward to
an exciting morning.

The coastline (incidentally, the
southern-most point of South Asia) receded into the distance as we went further
into the Indian ocean. The first hour was rather uneventful, though it passed
by quickly, thanks to the anticipation and expectations of the sightings that
awaited us.

At the hour mark (about 8
nautical miles off the coast), we heard the words we were longing to hear
“Whales ahead!!!” The words triggered a current of excitement through the boat
as everybody strained their eyes to catch a glimpse of the whales. We were
puzzled as we couldn’t sight anything. Then the crew informed us that the
whales were a good fifteen minutes ride away.

The crew helpfully explained how
they spot whales. Whales breathe air into their lungs, through nostrils called
‘blow-holes’, located on top of their heads. The whales surface and exhale the
used-up air. The act of exhaling, creates a water spout which helps whale-spotters
detect their presence from far away. The shape of the water spout helps in
identifying the whale species as well.

As we got closer, we could make
out the water spouts in the distance. To our thrill, we could see several water
spouts which indicated that there was a pod containing several whales. The crew
informed us that the whales were Sperm whales.

Sperm Whales are the largest of
the toothed-whales. The head of the whale contains a liquid wax called
spermaceti, from which the whale derives its name. They are known to grow upto
a maximum of 67 feet (20 metres) and weigh upto 65 tons. Though, on an average,
male sperm whales grow upto 55 feet (17 metres) in length while females grow
upto 38 feet (12 metres) in length. (Source: Wikipedia)

Finally, we got close enough to
be able to see the whales as they repeatedly surfaced for air, while swimming
at a leisurely pace. The crew estimated the pod size to be about 20
individuals. The younger (read smaller) whales swam in groups of 4, while the adult
whales swam alone or in pairs. The presence of several smaller whale groups
allowed the boats to follow different groups without overcrowding.

The first emotion that I felt on
seeing these giants was that of wonder and awe. These were some of the largest
animals to inhabit the planet, several times bigger than elephants, the largest
land animal. Yet, they swam so effortlessly and gracefully in the ocean waters.
My gaze moved from head to tail and back, again and again, as my mind absorbed
the immense size of these giants.

Taking photographs on the boat
was tricky, to put it mildly. The boat was moving forward on the waves and at
the same time rocking sideways. With both hands holding my heavy camera and
lens, it was a challenge just to stand upright. There was risk of falling on
the deck as well as the risk of falling overboard.

In spite of the challenge, I
clicked away non-stop. The best photo-opportunities arose when the whales dived
underneath. As they dived, they arched their backs and their tails were lifted
clear out of the water. The tails of the diving whales were my subjects for
photography.

After taking my heart’s fill of
photographs, I put the camera aside and observed these magnificent animals for
a long time, as they surfaced and dived. The whales had enthralled us for
slightly more than an hour. We were so fascinated and spell-bound, we did not
realize how time had flown by. Soon, it was time to say goodbye to the whales
and set off in search of the spinner dolphins. The Spinner Dolphins are found
much closer to the coast than the whales. Therefore, we turned back towards the
shore.

The spinner dolphins get their
common name from their behavior of leaping out of the water and spinning in the
air. There are different schools of thought on why these dolphins spin. Some
believe this behavior to be a part of courtship display, some consider these
spins to be acts of communication while some others believe that dolphins spin
to get rid of parasites. Whatever be the reason for the spinning behavior, the
spinning dolphins made for a spectacular sight.

After a half-an-hour ride, we got
our first glimpse of the dolphins from a distance. The crew used the clock
position to indicate the direction of the dolphins. They shouted ‘Three’o clock
!!!’ and everybody looked ahead to the right. There were a few dolphins
swimming on the surface. Soon the shouts came loud and fast, ‘Eleven’o clock
!!!”, ‘Nine’o clock !!!’, ‘Twelve’o clock !!!’, ‘Two’o clock !!!’.

The dolphins were coming in from
all directions, left, right, front and back. Everywhere we looked, there were
dolphins. The dolphins numbered in the hundreds as they surfed the small waves.
Watching their synchronized swimming over the waves was a stunning spectacle. The
dolphins were playful and were not shy of the boats in the area. Some swam
alongside the boat while others swam under the boat.

However, we were yet to see the
spinning behavior of the dolphins. And very soon, one of the dolphins obliged,
as it leapt out of the water, spun several times in the air, before falling
back into the water. The acrobatic display of the dolphin sent a thrill down my
spine. It was a sight to behold.

Soon other members of the pod
also started spinning, though not all at the same time. They repeated their
spinning behavior again and again. Photographing the dolphins was not an easy
experience due to several reasons, including the rocking boat, fast movement of
the dolphins and not knowing from where the dolphins would surface. Nevertheless
it was an enjoyable experience photographing these beautiful and athletic
animals. After an amazing display lasting over 45 minutes, the dolphins finally
swam away.

As we made our way back to the
shore, there was a mood of happiness and contentment in the boat. Not only did
the trip meet our expectations, it far exceeded it. The mighty Whales inspired
awe and amazement, while the playful Dolphins stole our hearts.

I had a whale watching tour
planned for the next day as well. I wondered whether I would be able to see the
Blue Whale.

25th February 2016

After the registration
formalities, the tour started at 7 am in the morning. It was cloudy and windy
day. Because of the winds, the ocean was a lot choppier than the previous day. And
sure enough, a couple of passengers became sea-sick. It was sheer misery for
them as there was nothing they could do, but vomit repeatedly.

As far as the whale-watching was
concerned, there were no whales in sight even after an hour’s ride. In such
circumstances, the crew venture out further into the ocean, until they sight
the whales.

As we went further into the
ocean, the waves got higher. The boat rocked to and fro as it navigated over
the choppy waters. Every now and then, we got soaked by a high wave. Some of
the passengers moved to the back to avoid getting wet. I stayed put, as it was
a unique experience to be soaked in such a manner. Though, I ensured that my
camera and lenses were safe from the salt water, in a water-proof cover.

There were no whales in sight
even after the two hour mark. On enquiring I was informed that we had travelled
16 nautical miles out into the ocean, twice the distance travelled yesterday. But
within half-an-hour, we heard what we were craving to hear for the last two and
a half hours, ‘Blue Whale ahead!’. The words were a huge relief to the ears.

Soon, we were riding alongside an
adult Blue Whale. The first adjective that comes to mind when looking at the
Blue Whale is ‘Gigantic’

Blue whales can grow upto a
maximum 30 metres (98 feet) and weigh as much as 170 tonnes. These whales are
bluish-grey in colour with a lighter shade underneath. Blue whales are the
largest and heaviest animals on the planet. (Source: Wikipedia)

Unlike the Sperm Whales that swam
on the surface for a long time, the Blue Whale dived after spending a minute or
so, on the surface. Each dive lasted for approximately 17 minutes. Therefore it
was a waiting game followed by a couple of minutes of hectic activity,

Photographing the Blue Whale was
proving to be a herculean task. Due to the choppy waters, the boat was rocking
from side to side. So much so, when I aimed at the water, I ended up
photographing the sky several times! I managed to grab a few images of the Blue
Whale. After 3 or 4 sightings in 45 minutes, we turned back in search of
Spinner Dolphins.

After an hour’s ride, we spotted
a group of 15-20 dolphins as they rode the waves. But within no time, they
disappeared out of sight. There were no more dolphins to be seen anywhere. That
sadly signalled the end of the dolphin watching session. It was a big disappointment
when compared to the previous day’s sighting. I felt sorry for the other
tourists who had missed the dolphin show.

The difference in the tour experience
across the two days, clearly illustrated how unpredictable nature and wildlife
sightings can be. The saving grace, as far as I was concerned, was the Blue
Whale sighting. It was my first ever sighting of a Blue Whale and that made it memorable.
The memories would remain with me for a
very long time.

The entire Mirissa experience was
a dream come true, thanks to the Blue Whale, Sperm Whale and Spinner Dolphin
sightings. It was definitely worth a visit. And I had already started planning
for my next visit!